Human
by oswwinoswald
Summary: WORLD WAR II AU - After Levi saves Eren from being beaten to death by his fellow soldiers because of his sexuality, Eren makes it his mission to replay the favor ny protecting Levi during the war and after against all odds. Levi x Eren (yaoi). *WARNING OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE IS USED FOR PLOT PURPOSES*
1. I Can Bite My Tongue

**AN - Hello, so this story is Levi x Eren from Attack on Titan it does contain yaoi so please be aware. It takes place right after Pearl Harbor, I tried to be pretty historically accurate, but it isn't perfect so don't judge my history skills. It takes place in World War II and surrounds Eren's life as a soldier during the war and his relationship with Levi, who is his regiments Captain. If there are any typos point them out, as it was rather late when I wrote the first chapter so it probably does contain a few mistakes, this way I can get those all corrected and stuff. The story is based on the song Human by Christina Perri, I love this song for Eren and Levi because it reminds me of how they view each other. Especially how Eren views Levi. NOTE: In the story I made Levi's last name Rivaille rather than Ackerman because I thought that might be confusing for Eren and I wasn't looking to go into that. Also Mikasa is said to be Chinese in this story. It's been previously stated she is Oriental/Asian though where she's from is a mystery, I was going to do Japan, but that would complicate things further than they needed to be (because of the Japanese camps in the US at the time) so I went with China. At this point in time Pearl Harbor has just happened so America had just joined the war, no draft has been initiated yet and there have been very few American casualties aside from those at Pearl Harbor. Okay okay I'm finished! Enjoy and please let me know if you like it by reviewing! :) I really appreciate it and it makes me wanna write more. Thanks so much xoxo Jess**

* * *

Prologue

Eren could still hear the bombs. He'd never seen so much destruction, so much chaos, in one place. He remembered his heart clinch as he raced toward the harbor, the souls of his shoes slapping against the hot pavement, he could see the bombers, not only in the sky, but on the ground…in pieces. _Suicide bombers._ He thought as he continued to run, he had to get to the nurses station, to his mother, before something happened to it, to her. He was almost there, he could see the building it was just out of reach, less than twenty meters away, he could see his mother through the window, tending to the injured. He was almost to her when he felt the tug on his sleeve. Tug wasn't exactly the best word, more like yank, he looked back to see Mikasa's hand wrapped around his arm, pulling him backwards away from the building, "Mikasa! Let go of me! Mom is—"

"Eren! Look!" Mikasa's words were frantic her eyes panicked as she dragged him away from the building with all her mite.

"Wha—" then he saw it. The plane…hurling itself towards the building, towards his mother, he felt his heart shatter, his world fall apart, he let out a heart breaking cry, "Mother!" the words were urgent like maybe if he put enough force behind them they could save her, but they didn't. They couldn't…he couldn't. The plane hit the building, he heard the screams of its victims, their cries for help as the walls came down and the plane went up in flames. Debris flew from the collapsing building, there was a sharp pain at the side of his head and a greater one in his heart, his breath caught in his throat, he couldn't see clearly through the tears forming in his eyes, he didn't know what happened after that he'd blacked out. He did remember waking up the next day to Mikasa sitting by his hospital bed, he'd jerked upright immediately, "Mother!" was the first thing he said. Mikasa just held his hand and shook her head, her eyes watery, her face covered in ash. He felt a sharp pain in the same place he'd felt it at the nurses station, though this time it felt more like an echo.

"A piece of the plane hit you in the head when it blew up…you need to lie down, you'll hurt yourself." Her voice was scratchy, like she'd been crying.

"…I…is…have you seen…"

"I haven't seen anyone Eren…there were over three thousand people killed…"

He thought about his friends, "Armin!" he shouted, he pain in his head returning.

"He wasn't on the base when it happened. We shouldn't have been there either."

"We had to get…" realization sunk in that who they had come to get they would never see again.

"I know, but I shouldn't have let you go. You got hurt."

He opened his mouth to speak, but the pain in his head was so excruciating he fell back against the matress his breathing uneven.

"Rest Eren…they said you'd be released in a day or so if you rest."

So he did. He listed to Mikasa and he rested. For two days, he slept, waking only to eat and use the bathroom and found that each time it hurt less and less. Armin came to visit once. He broke into tears as he told Eren what was happening. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, bombs which had killed his mother, and in turn the United States had joined the war.

"I'm gonna fight." Eren said, his voice hoarse, yet full of determination, "I'm gonna kill every last Axis soldier before they can hurt anyone else I love."

Armin's blue eyes were wide, full of tears, but he nodded. Mikasa was silent, she watched him from the corner of the room, her left hand knotted into the red scarf she always wore, the one that he'd given her as a child, her sharp grey eyes full of pain. He knew she didn't want him to go…the battle field was the one place she couldn't follow him…women weren't allowed to fight...to be soldiers, and she knew that, and so did he. A small smile crossed his lips, at least she would be safe. He looked at Armin, little Armin Arlert, who wasn't a fighter. Who preferred knowledge to punches and had an amazing way with words. _Don't. _he thought, _Please don't fight Armin…I can't protect you on a battlefield. _Armin's eyes met his and he nodded, a nod of understanding almost, like he'd heard Eren's thoughts.

He smiled. And closed his eyes.

The next day he was released from the hospital. And the next week he joined the army.

Chapter 1 – I Can Bite My Tongue

Two months and three weeks had passed since Eren had joined the army, training had taken eight weeks and since then he'd been put on a boat of two hundred some other cadets and shipped to England. He thought often of home, he and Armin wrote to each other frequently, and his mind often drifted back to his last meeting with Mikasa.

"_You know what will happen…"she'd said quietly, "if they find out about you."_

_ He cringed, "I know…"_

_ "I can't protect you while you're there. I…I know you can't help who you are, but a lot of people don't know that. They'll hurt you if they find out."_

_ "I know Mikasa."_

_ "You shouldn't go…they might…Eren…what if—"_

_ He cut her off, "They have bigger things to worry about than a gay comrade."_

_ "Just because they have bigger things to worry about doesn't mean they will. If they tell…"_

_ "They won't have proof." At this point he wasn't just trying to assure her, but himself as well._

_ "Just be careful Eren…promise me," she hugged him, "you'll be okay."_

_ "I'll be okay…I promise. I'll see you again Mikasa. Don't worry."_

_ She looked frustrated, "If I could only…if they'd let me fight I could—"_

_ "Then I'd have more to worry about than just my sexuality Mikasa. At least I know you're safe when you're here."_

_ Mikasa smiled, "Look at you…trying to be the hero as always."_

_ He hugged her again, "I'll miss you __mèimei." __He said using what little Chinese Mikasa had taught him as a child to comfort her._

_ She smiled, "Be safe." She whispered as he released her and turned towards the ship. _

He'd done well to heed Mikasa's warning. She was right the other men would hurt him if they found out. He'd have to keep it a secret for as long as possible, but in the end he wasn't ashamed of who he was…and he didn't want hiding it to make him ashamed. Eren had been there and done that and he had no intention of doing it again. When push came to shove he'd be honest about who he was after all, he looked around at the other cadets, he wasn't here to make friends he was here to kill the monsters who had killed his mother.

An announcement came across the bases speakers cutting through his thoughts, "All cadets please report to training with Commander Erwin. Repeat: All cadets please report to training with Commander Erwin." He pushed himself off the ground where he'd been sitting and made his way towards the center of the base with the other cadets, to his left he saw a tall disagreeable looking man with spikey ashen hair, his companion a freckled faced man with dark brown hair and a kind smile. He knew them from their trip over, Jean and Marco, Marco smiled at him immediately, "Where've you been Eren? Haven't seen you since we got off the boat." his voice warm and friendly.

"Just trying to figure this place out." He said calmly, when really he'd been avoiding most of the people in the camp.

Marco spoke then, "Why bother? Didn't you hear? We're being dispatched tomorrow for Germany."

Eren's eyes widened, "Tomorrow?"

"I'm guessing that's the reason for all the training sessions. I heard Erwin's right hand is being promoted to Captain and sent with us…what's his name again? Levi or something?"

"Levi Rivaille, he's supposed to be the fastest soldier under Erwin's command." Marco elbowed Jean playfully, "Guess being short can count for something." A whisper of a smile played across Jeans face, Eren could tell he thought highly of Marco, either as a best friend or maybe more, but he didn't like to make assumptions, "Anyway," Marco continued, "this Levi guys supposed to be the best of the best."

"Good thing he's leading us then...but the Eastern Font? That's the middle of the damn war? It's like sending us to our deaths."

Jean looked at him, his eyes serious, "If we don't fight we won't be the only ones sent to our deaths." Jean said quietly walking ahead.

Eren cringed, that bastard was right, if they didn't fight where they needed to fight then thousands would die. Not hundreds, thousands, maybe more…

Minutes later the trio reached the training station just as Commander Erwin began to speak, "Cadets, I'm sure by now all of you have heard about the dispatch…the US Military has ordered for all American troops on this base to be transferred to the base in Eastern Germany. You've been officially made part of the European movement. The US eighth Infantry Division, will be placed under the command of Captain Levi Rivaille, and will dispatch tomorrow at 0900 hours, on the east loading dock. Bring all personal items and your identification, you'll be checked before boarding. This is an important movement. This war is going to be long and hard, probably harder than the Trench War, but if you cooperate we can defeat the enemy. We can't do it without you. Training for today has been canceled, the rest of the day you will help with supply checks and loading. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the ring of two hundred voices echoed through the air.

"Then you are dismissed. Each of you have been assigned a checklist, it was left at the end of each of your bunks. Please retrieve it and complete the disclosed. Thank you for your service. Godspeed."

The same two hundred voiced repeated the last word and then the soldiers began to break apart, returning to their bunks to retrieve their lists. Eren followed of course, but not before noticing a short man with a black undercut and deep grey eyes standing to the left of Erwin. He hadn't noticed him before, but now he couldn't stop noticing him. He had a prominent brow and a composed face, he was lean, but muscular, and although he was not smiling something told Eren he had a beautiful smile. A deep voice rang out, "Levi!" and the man's head snapped towards it. _So he's Levi Rivaille. _Eren thought. He forced himself to look away…there was something about him…he didn't know what exactly, but there was something, that made Eren's heart beat a little bit faster. He cursed himself for it, reminding himself that he couldn't afford those kinds of thoughts, not here, not around these people, and especially not about a higher up. After another moment he willed himself to go back to his bunk, something that was inexplicably harder than it should have been, and retrieved his list.

*.*.*.*

It took them a little less than a day to get to Belgium from England and then a week on foot or sometimes in tactical vehicles to get to the base. During that time not much, war wise, had happened for their regiment. They'd march for hours on end and yet they seemed to get nowhere. They stopped twice a day, once for lunch and once for dinner, dinner came when the end of the day did and was accompanied by roughly six hours of sleep if they were lucky. The only thing notable that had happened, and by notable he met the worst day of his life, had come right at the end of their journey. One and a half days away from the base.

Since this was the last rest the troops would have till they reached the base, they'd stopped early, set up tents and eaten dinner, black beans and dry bread per the usual. Eren had found himself rather bored. The other soldiers were gossiping about their girls back home, they'd asked him of course, whether or not he had a girl, a few assumed he did what with all the letters he wrote home, he'd said he didn't. Just a sister and a best friend, but that wasn't good enough for his comrades. Things seldom were. They tended to seek details.

"Kid like you? Certainly all the ladies swoon." One said, rather sarcastically, but Eren kept his cool, laughing it off.

"What did she break up with you for joinin' up?"

"Skinny brat's probably never had a girlfriend before."

Eren's fist tightened, he wanted to scream, but he didn't.

"Ain't got nothing to say to that kid?" another, illiterate, man interjected.

"I don't need to say anything."

"Yeah maybe he don't got a girlfriend," one teased, "maybe he's got a _boy_friend."

"One way to find out!" the first man grabbed him and reached inside his jacket pocket grabbing his latest letter to Mikasa, his eyes widened as he remembered what he'd written, he struggled against the mans grip.

"Give it back!" he shouted, "Now!"

The man held him at arm's length as he unfolded the letter and cleared his throat comically, "Dear Mikasa," the man looked at Eren, "You writin' to a Jap?" he asked, Eren nearly punched him square in the jaw for the racist slur.

"She's Chinese!" he yelled struggling to get to the letter, but the man was to strong.

"Not much better," then he continued, "'I'm writing to tell you everything is fine. I'm fine, so you don't need to worry.' How cute, she gets worried does she? Your slant eyed friend?"

Eren wanted to kill the ignorant man, but settled for all he could manage which was a broken, "Bastard!"

"Feisty," he read on, "'We're moving towards the Eastern Front as I write this, we should arrive in a few days,' Blah blah blah," he mocked skipping to the end, "'And please Mikasa, I really am fine, no one knows about me…and they won't know about me.'" The looks he was getting scared him and he knew they'd just get worse. "'I'm not an idiot I know better than to hit on straight guys by now.'" There was more, but the man didn't bother, he opened his mouth but he wasn't first to speak.

"Faggot!" Eren cringed, it was happening, and he knew what would happen next.

"You like dicks don't you," one of the men taunted, "filthy disgusting fag."

"How dare you join the army you fag? You'll poison to whole damn place with your disease, faggot!"

"It'll be your fault we lose the war cocksucker!" that's when someone hit him. He didn't know who, but it was a force packed punch straight to the jaw, he heard it crack on impact.

"Show this queer the hell he deserves!" One shouted, and then they were on him, all of them. He'd never heard so many disgusting slurs. He'd never imagined there were so many, but now he was sure he'd heard them all. The pain was excruciating, he tried to scream, but he'd run out of breath long ago plus who would help him? A gay being beaten to death? Who would even care? And if someone did they couldn't help him, they'd wind up getting beaten too. He endured what he could, each punch left a new bruise, he'd heard his ribs snap more than once, his nose leaked blood, he tasted blood in his mouth too, the disgusting rusty taste was one he couldn't stand, another fist struck his face, his eyes were swollen, though at this point he couldn't tell whether it was from crying or black eyes, he did know however he was crying, because the tears stung his cuts, he gasped for breath, another hit to his gut making him gag, they were gonna kill him. He could feel it…in the way they punched, they didn't want to wound him they wanted to kill him. As he were the soul reason for the war. As if he was the army they'd been trained to fight. He'd tried fighting back, but he was too weak against all the men, he'd started to give up, when he heard a voice familiar voice, and the a loud bellowing yelp of pain.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Captain Levi's voice cut through the men's slurs like an ax.

They all stopped beating him immediately, "Teaching this faggot a lesson!"

From his swollen eyes he could see Levi, his face calm as ever other than the fact he looked slightly more aggravated than usual, he stood before the man who was a good foot and a half taller than him, and then in one sudden movement the man was on the ground, Levi's leg extended into the air perfectly still for a moment, before he brought it back down. He moved towards Eren then bending down and pulling him to his feet though that didn't last long and he found himself limp in the Captains arms within seconds, but before he passed out he heard the Captain mutter, "I wasn't aware a man's sexuality in anyway impaired his ability to fight."

And then everything went black.

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**AN - Eren calls Mikasa "_mèimei" _at one point which is traditional chinese for sister. **

**TUMBLR (to remind me to update or if you have questions): aloisearltrancy or oswwinoswald both work the first is my anime blog so you'd probably like it more :)**

**What did you think? Leave a review and let me know! They really do help a lot! :)**


	2. Tomorrow Will Be Kinder

**AN - Took a bit longer than I'd hoped, but I had a very busy week. College graduations, concerts, tests, all the horrible things, anyway I think this chapter is a little bit more in character. Well I tried at least :) PS I ship Jeanmarco like hella so I apologize. Anyway, please leave a review if you enjoy the chapter :) Thanks so much to my other reviewers xoxo Jess**

Chapter 2 – Tomorrow Will Be Kinder

Levi watched the boy on the cot intently, somehow the little brat was making him worry. How he'd managed to do that was a mystery he couldn't even explain, but it was driving him crazy. The poor idiot had gone and gotten himself beaten half to death for something he couldn't help and Levi couldn't stand to think that the same men who'd beaten this kid were under his command. He was ashamed of them, every last one involved, including himself. They were his responsibility after all, their actions were his actions, their stupid incompetent mistakes were mistakes he was accountable for and that just wouldn't do. He sighed. He'd have to put them in their place later, after the kid woke up.

Minutes later, as if waiting for some sort of queue, the kids eyes opened groggily; he looked around, it took him a second to see Levi, but when he did he shot up straight in his cot and saluted, though the pain must have been excruciating because he let out a sharp yelp not even a second after, Levi respected his notion, but rolled his eyes, "Lay back down idiot you'll hurt yourself."

The boy obeyed, "Captain Levi...I…what happened was completely my fault, I take full responsibility." He said, though his tone was unconvincing.

"Was it? It didn't look like it."

The boy didn't respond.

"The other soldiers said they were, what was it again, oh yes, 'Putting the faggot in his place.' What place is that exactly Mr…?"

"Jeager…Eren Jeager."

Levi smiled inwardly, it was a cute name, "What place was that Mr. Jeager?"

Eren cringed, "…I'm…I'm not sure."

"Neither am I."

"I'm not…I mean…I'm not gay."

Levi scoffed at the kids cover up, "Course you're not, but listen Eren, I don't give two shits what your sexuality is, do you want to fight?"

"Yes sir."

"Do you have a cause?"

"Yes sir." The kid didn't even have to think about it, something Levi liked.

"Then you have my respect. Those men out there are ignorant. They believe that their beliefs are the only beliefs, and if you don't match up with their vision of how people are supposed to be you don't deserve to live, but they're wrong. There's no point in telling them that. They won't listen to you, so you might as well bite your tongue, but you should know." He looked the younger boy in the eyes their gazes locked, "What they say, what they think, it doesn't matter. The measure of a man doesn't come from his sexuality or his beliefs, it comes from his willingness to do what's right. What's noble. Even in dire situations. And ninety percent of those assholes don't have the potential...do you?"

The look in Eren's eyes wasn't one Levi was used to. Never had someone looked at him like that, with thankful eyes and a hopeful smile. Never in his entire life and he was finding out how much he wished more people would. He couldn't help, but smile back, though the smile was small, almost undetectable on his lips. What was this brat doing to him? He shook it off and Eren answered, "I guess we'll find out." He tried to sit up then, but another yelp told Levi it him hurt too much for that, "Dammit." Eren groaned.

"Eren, lay down, they beat you up pretty badly, you'll ride in the supply vehicle with me to the base tomorrow."

It was obvious the comment did nothing for Eren's nerves, again he struggled to get up, "No, I have to walk. They'll…" the brown haired boy winced in pain.

He rolled his eyes,_ Idiots never learn_, he reminded himself, walking towards the tents entrance, "Stay Eren." He spoke the way he'd speak to a disobedient dog, "Or..." a smirk spread over his thin lips, "I'll tie you down myself."

With that he exited the tent.

*.*.*

The Captains words rang through Eren's throbbing head for hours after he'd left. _Or I'll tie you down myself. _Had he met it as a friendly joke? Or was he insinuating something? Levi didn't seem like the joking type, but did he seem sadistic? Maybe… _No, hold on, stop right there._ Eren wouldn't…no he couldn't make assumptions like that about an officer. Not only was in inappropriate, but it was a long shot. It always was. Especially with a military officer, the military was so strict about that kind of thing he was sure they'd notice, but then…they hadn't noticed him…not exactly; and if they did they didn't care. Or maybe they needed the bodies? He wasn't sure, but for some military dog like Levi he was surprisingly calm about the whole ordeal. Though from Eren previous meetings with Levi, which had been brief and uneventful, he did seem like a rather calm and somewhat…_emotionless? _Yes, emotionless person. Someone who didn't care very much about other people's lives so long as they didn't interfere with the greater good or with his own, so maybe he was just indifferent? Eren cringed, he'd thought about it so much his head hurt…or maybe it had already hurt? He didn't remember, he assumed a mixture of the two, he mumbled a curse word as he tried to turn onto his side. It wasn't only his head, everything hurt. Every single thing.

He'd kick those dicks asses one day. Soon hopefully. He wanted to show them his sexuality didn't make him weak. He wanted to show them what he was capable of, which was a lot, he'd graduated sixth in his division after all, with Jean and Marco directly behind him. Speaking of Jean and Marco, they'd paid him a visit a few hours back, well more like Marco had paid him a visit and Jean had stood in the corner and muttered, "You god damned idiot you're gonna get yourself killed." Over and over again, whilst occasionally commenting.

The first thing Eren had noticed about Marco Bodt and Jean Kirestien upon their entering was that up until they entered the tent Jean had his hand wrapped protectively around Marco's and Marco's face, although it had faded to a concerned expression upon seeing Eren, had held a proud smile. It'd made Eren smile too, at least he wasn't the only one and at least the others were safe and happy. Marco looked worried as he knelt beside his cot, "Are you alright, Eren?" his voice was soft and comforting, and he could see why Jean liked him so much.

"I'm fine. I mean, what are a few bruises?"

Jean scoffed from the corner, "Bruises? You look like you've been run over by a tank."

That earned him a scowl from both of them, though he just shrugged it off.

"Did they really beat you up like that just because they found out," Marco's voice dropped an octave, "you're gay?"

"Don't say it like it's a bad thing." Jean interjected.

"It's fine Jean," Eren said, making his voice as strong as he could manage.

"It isn't. No one should have to be ashamed of who they are." Jean said though he wasn't looking at Eren he was looking at Marco.

"I know." Marco said he looked back at Eren, "They got you pretty bad huh? How did they find out anyway? You didn't tell them did you?"

"Course not you think I'm an idiot or something? They stole one of my letters to Mikasa."

"_You wrote about it?" _Jean's voice was snarky and sorrowful all at the same time, "You really are stupid."

"SHUT UP ASSHAT! She asked!" he screamed in response.

Marco shushed them both which only made Eren angrier, "I DON'T SEE WHY IT'S SUCH A BIG DEAL!"

"Eren!" Marco hissed, "Stop shouting!"

He was briefly reminded of Mikasa which calmed him enough where he wasn't shouting anymore, "I just…I want to fight, I want to help just like all the other god damn men here, why does my sexuality matter? It's not like anyone would _want _to look at most of the men here, I'm not here to look at cute boys, believe me I wouldn't have come _here _if I wanted to do that, I'm here to defeat the enemy. I'm here to make my mother's death mean something!"

Marco looked sad, "I know what you're here to do Eren, and unlike most of us you've been on the war front before. You've seen the enemy…you know what we're up against. A lot of these men don't realize it yet, but this isn't like any war we've ever fought before. This is new. This is huge. And it's only going to hurt us if our own men can't get over something so trivial," _He sounds just like Captain Levi, _Eren thought, "but they won't, so _you _can't let it affect you. Let it affect them, but don't let them effect you. Not again. Remember why you're here."

Eren nodded, "Thanks Marco." Marco really was a great guy, he was reliable and strong, not to mention handsome and kind, Eren smirked, Jean was a lucky guy. "How they hell did you end up with him?" He nodded in Jean's direction, intentionally trying to push his buttons. Marco blushed, and Jean shot Eren a death glare.

"He has his moments." Marco said in a whisper.

"Jeager you should know I have no qualms with kicking your ass right now. Sick or not."

Eren chuckled and Marco pushed his short tempered boyfriend out of the tent, "We'll come back to see you soon!" he said with a smile.

Jean's muffled, "Speak for yourself Marco!" followed, and then with one last wave Marco too ducked out of the tent, leaving Eren alone, though he'd enjoyed the antics of Jean and Marco the silence was a blessing. He was exhausted, both emotionally and physically and had a feeling sleep would do him some good. Clear his mind. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes hoping tomorrow would be kinder.

**AN- That's a wrap on the chapter! I've already started the next one! Hope you like it! What did you think? Please please leave a review for faster updates! It means the world! :)**


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